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VICTOR SCHUKOV When Victor Schukov’s parents arrived in this country in 1952 they had $80 to their name. They borrowed $8,000 from a fellow countryman from the old country to buy a house. They repaid the loan and went on to help their son with the down payment for his home. Schukov bought a bungalow in Dollard-des-Ormeaux. By the time he moved to a bigger house, this time in Baied’Urfé, he had two young children and was mortgage-free. His young family’s ultimate freedom from a high-debt-to-income ratio was entirely thanks to his immigrant parents’ hard work and planning and “paying it forward” in caring for their kids’ future security. But all that has changed now. Most young couples will not be able to be mortgage-free even with all the help from their parents. There was a time when young families moved to the West Island to afford the dream. Now, they have to go farther afield.

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